Objective – Use a range of descriptive techniques so that you can

show how a character is feeling.

a) His heart was c) His knuckles turned

pounding like a drum. white as he clenched
his fists.

b) She skipped d) Her stomach twisted

energetically down the and turned as though it
street. was swarming with
butterflies.

Look at the four descriptive sentences – can you work out

how each character is feeling?
He tapped his fingers impatiently on the frame of the window. A smile briefly broke the thin
line of his mouth as he realised that today was the day he would be going home. For the last
time he looked out through the bars that had felt like they were keeping him prisoner, his
eyes were tired of the same old trees and grey concrete. His heart soared as he closed his
eyes and imagined what it would be like to see his friends and his family again. He turned his
back on the dull view and it felt like a new chapter in his life was beginning.

Think – how is the character feeling in this short piece of description? How do you know?
He tapped his fingers impatiently on the frame of the window. A smile briefly broke the thin
line of his mouth as he realised that today was the day he would be going home. For the last
time he looked out through the bars that had felt like they were keeping him prisoner, his
eyes were tired of the same old trees and grey concrete. His heart soared as he closed his
eyes and imagined what it would be like to see his friends and his family again. He turned his
back on the dull view and it felt like a new chapter in his life was beginning.

Pair – Discuss your ideas about how the character feels in this short piece of description
and how you can tell.
He tapped his fingers impatiently on the frame of
the window. A smile briefly broke the thin line of his
mouth as he realised that today was the day he
would be going home. For the last time he looked
out through the bars that had felt like they were
keeping him prisoner, his eyes were tired of the
same old trees and grey concrete. His heart soared
as he closed his eyes and imagined what it would be
like to see his friends and his family again. He turned
his back on the dull view and it felt like a new
chapter in his life was beginning.
 Excited to go home?
Tapping fingers
Thinking about home –
comparing it to where he is?
Moving around a lot

Smiling ‘heart soared’

Excited
‘felt like a new chapter’
Closing his eyes? Imagining home?

In groups you have each been given a different emotion.

Task – think of some ideas about how you could express that emotion through description.

- Body language or facial expressions (verbs + adverbs?)

- Thoughts and feelings of the character
- Adjectives or similes
He tapped his fingers impatiently on the frame of the window. A smile briefly broke the thin
line of his mouth as he realised that today was the day he would be going home. For the last
time he looked out through the bars that had felt like they were keeping him prisoner, his
eyes were tired of the same old trees and grey concrete. His heart soared as he closed his
eyes and imagined what it would be like to see his friends and his family again. He turned his
back on the dull view and it felt like a new chapter in his life was beginning.

Task – Write a short description in your group to try and express how the character is
feeling. DON’T use the name of the emotion (e.g. excited)
He tapped his fingers impatiently on the frame of the window. A smile briefly broke the thin
line of his mouth as he realised that today was the day he would be going home. For the last
time he looked out through the bars that had felt like they were keeping him prisoner, his
eyes were tired of the same old trees and grey concrete. His heart soared as he closed his
eyes and imagined what it would be like to see his friends and his family again. He turned his
back on the dull view and it felt like a new chapter in his life was beginning.

Task – Swap descriptions with another group – can you highlight at least three
words/phrases they have used to SHOW how the character is feeling?
He tapped his fingers impatiently on the frame of the window.
A smile briefly broke the thin line of his mouth as he realised
that today was the day he would be going home. For the last
time he looked out through the bars that had felt like they
were keeping him prisoner, his eyes were tired of the same old
trees and grey concrete. His heart soared as he imagined what
it would be like to see his friends and his family again. He
turned his back on the dull view and it felt like a new chapter in
his life was beginning.
He tapped his fingers impatiently on the frame of the window.
A smile briefly broke the thin line of his mouth as he realised
that today was the day he would be going home. For the last
time he looked out through the bars that had felt like they
were keeping him prisoner, his eyes were tired of the same old
trees and grey concrete. His heart soared as he imagined what
it would be like to see his friends and his family again. He
turned his back on the dull view and it felt like a new chapter in
his life was beginning.
He tapped his fingers impatiently on the frame of the window.
A smile briefly broke the thin line of his mouth as he realised
that today was the day he would be going home. For the last
time he looked out through the bars that had felt like they
were keeping him prisoner, his eyes were tired of the same old
trees and grey concrete. His heart soared as he imagined what
it would be like to see his friends and his family again. He
turned his back on the dull view and it felt like a new chapter in
his life was beginning.
He tapped his fingers impatiently on the frame of the window.
A smile briefly broke the thin line of his mouth as he realised
that today was the day he would be going home. For the last
time he looked out through the bars that had felt like they
were keeping him prisoner, his eyes were tired of the same old
trees and grey concrete. His heart soared as he imagined what
it would be like to see his friends and his family again. He
turned his back on the dull view and it felt like a new chapter in
his life was beginning.
He tapped his fingers impatiently on the frame of the window.
A smile briefly broke the thin line of his mouth as he realised
that today was the day he would be going home. For the last
time he looked out through the bars that had felt like they
were keeping him prisoner, his eyes were tired of the same old
trees and grey concrete. His heart soared as he imagined what
it would be like to see his friends and his family again. He
turned his back on the dull view and it felt like a new chapter in
his life was beginning.
He tapped his fingers impatiently on the frame of the window.
A smile briefly broke the thin line of his mouth as he realised
that today was the day he would be going home. For the last
time he looked out through the bars that had felt like they
were keeping him prisoner, his eyes were tired of the same old
trees and grey concrete. His heart soared as he imagined what
it would be like to see his friends and his family again. He
turned his back on the dull view and it felt like a new chapter in
his life was beginning.